18 SEP 18 IWC Board

[exNavyOffRec]

I am considering SWO. However, my mentor and prior Commander is an IP officer and I was instructed if I wanted to be taken seriously for IP to only list IP and SWO-IP options. Since I am still within my 6 month window of the June 2018 board I am unable to add another designator. If not selected this round I will likely pursue a commission as a SWO.

If you look at the selects nearly all for IP are tech degrees, a friend of mine was a senior IP officer and having talked to those sitting boards he directed people with non-tech degrees to SWO

I think SWO-IP is now just for USNA/NROTC.

OCS boards done care about persistence, it is all about the best qualified candidate, persistence is a word that get tossed around with all types of boards in the USN and it just doesn't matter.

If you are set on the IWC community Intel takes more people with non-tech degrees than the other IWC designators.

 

[Law_to_1830]

You wouldn't start as an E-1 you would be an E-3 out of bootcamp because you have more than enough college credits. Furthermore with your qualifications (and taking the ASVAB) you could qualify for some high-end rates such at ATI, CT, ET, etc. Most of these are "Push-Button" E-4 out of A/C School. So realistically you could be an E-5 in <2 years. If you continued to work hard and get top Evals, you could make E-6 in another 1.5 and then push for LDO/Warrant Officer when eligible for Chief.

*Also there is NOTHING wrong with Enlisted. Enlisted personnel are amazing people and there is a lot of pride and honor to be found amongst those rates. Navy Chiefs are some of the most respected and motivational people in all of the military services and most of the best officers I knew as an enlisted person were those that learned from and listened to their Chiefs.

Just my .02

Edit* you would also get the Post 9/11 GI Bill for any college in the future.

Those are all good points. Thank you for the insights!

I certainly meant no disrespect towards enlisted personnel. I have always had a lot of respect for NCOs. I also know that any officer worth anything listens to his Chiefs.

That being said, I think my contingency plans should remain the same: Plan A is Intel Officer, Plan B is CIA/FBI for a few years and then Navy Intel Officer, and Plan C is enlisted Intel and then Intel officer.

Still, you gave some good info to bolster Plan C a lot more. So thanks and have a great weekend!

 

[Seahawk04]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to say hello. I am also applying for the upcoming Intel board. My package seems pretty average compared to everyone else but I am excited to see who all gets selected. Good luck all

 

[SirDataDetective]

I won't be making this Board as my medical waiver request docs were not reviewed in time for me to go to MEPS by tomorrow's deadline. Apparently, the docs were lost somewhere in transition within the last 6 weeks.

All this for a simple surgery 7 years ago to help fix a broken nose. Very frustrating, but what can you do.

Good luck to all on this Board.

 

[Seahawk04]

I won't be making this Board as my medical waiver request docs were not reviewed in time for me to go to MEPS by tomorrow's deadline. Apparently, the docs were lost somewhere in transition within the last 6 weeks.

All this for a simple surgery 7 years ago to help fix a broken nose. Very frustrating, but what can you do.

Good luck to all on this Board.

I am so sorry things didn't workout for you this cycle. Good luck for the next board. At least you got a taste of the real Navy. Through out your carrier (if selected) you will learn that you have to be diligent and keep track of your own stuff. You will loose request chits, awards, qualifications, etc if you don't keep track of your own paper work. I am not saying it is your fault ( you probably didn't know how the process work). But for future reference, find out how the process works on your own. Don't listen to anyone's advice or count on ANYONE to do things right for you. Someone somewhere will not do their job right and you will have to pay the ultimate price.

Well, important lesson learnt. Stay persistent and good luck

 

[SirDataDetective]

I am so sorry things didn't workout for you this cycle. Good luck for the next board. At least you got a taste of the real Navy. Through out your carrier (if selected) you will learn that you have to be diligent and keep track of your own stuff. You will loose request chits, awards, qualifications, etc if you don't keep track of your own paper work. I am not saying it is your fault ( you probably didn't know how the process work). But for future reference, find out how the process works on your own. Don't listen to anyone's advice or count on ANYONE to do things right for you. Someone somewhere will not do their job right and you will have to pay the ultimate price.

Well, important lesson learnt. Stay persistent and good luck

Thanks, but the only lesson I’ve learned here is that there is some major ineptitude within the MEPS processing line.

All docs and paperwork were submitted in a timely manner and email/texts/calls following up on all pending items were being sent out 3x a week.

There is only so much one can do when working through a single point of contact that has more responsibilities than spending half days on the phone chasing down the status of a lost document that should have been processed weeks prior.

Let’s just say that the process and dynamic is vastly different than anything you’d see in private industry.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Let’s just say that the process and dynamic is vastly different than anything you’d see in private industry.

It is different yet the same, after being in the private industry for several years now and running backgrounds (both financial and criminal) you wouldn't believe the shit that goes on in the private sector, drug screenings lost, inaccurate criminal records checks, etc....... of course there is all the crap that goes on after hiring too, which can be even worse.

 

[SirDataDetective]

It is different yet the same, after being in the private industry for several years now and running backgrounds (both financial and criminal) you wouldn't believe the shit that goes on in the private sector, drug screenings lost, inaccurate criminal records checks, etc....... of course there is all the crap that goes on after hiring too, which can be even worse.

This is true. In my field though, I can never imagine denying/missing the funding start date of a client who has provided all requested documentation and information in a timely manner and who has continually followed up with me regarding the status of the approval process, all because I or someone within my own internal approval chain lost paperwork or was too slow to review. I would be let go on the spot for failing to manage that process correctly.

I understand that the situations and institutions are vastly different, and that MEPS has a massive amount of processing documentation and tasks that take precedent. This doesn't sway my decision to join the military, but it certainly is disappointing because of the long wait time until the next Board.

I tried to ask for an extension, but was told that those are only granted if the waiver document has already been approved. This seems a bit counter intuitive to me. You would think that extensions would be granted for situations such as my own where there was an error made in the backend that was unrelated to the applicant's actions.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

This is true. In my field though, I can never imagine denying/missing the funding start date of a client who has provided all requested documentation and information in a timely manner and who has continually followed up with me regarding the status of the approval process, all because I or someone within my own internal approval chain lost paperwork or was too slow to review. I would be let go on the spot for failing to manage that process correctly.

I understand that the situations and institutions are vastly different, and that MEPS has a massive amount of processing documentation and tasks that take precedent. This doesn't sway my decision to join the military, but it certainly is disappointing because of the long wait time until the next Board.

I tried to ask for an extension, but was told that those are only granted if the waiver document has already been approved. This seems a bit counter intuitive to me. You would think that extensions would be granted for situations such as my own where there was an error made in the backend that was unrelated to the applicant's actions.

ha, well you have been lucky or are in a unique job, when I talk to friends of mine it is like a comedy of errors, one guy I worked with left to go to another company and they scheduled his start date, then 2 days before they realized the person that would be training him was leaving for 2 weeks vacation that same day so they asked if he could push his start date, of course he said that puts me in a bad spot financially so they ended up paying him for two weeks just to stay home! I had another friend with a start date scheduled who found out that internally his paperwork was approved so he was pushed a week.

 

[Deleted member 67144 scul]

This forum.

I didn’t even know about them prior to joining the site. Significant appraisals seem to be on everyone’s stat line, and is something that has been brought up a number of times on here.

I’ve spoken to a few individuals who got the Pro Rec Y nod, and all but one had appraisals completed. And that one had an O-6 as a LoR.

It seems to play in as a factor, but I understand that it is just one of many.

Were you looking at DCO threads? DCO is a completely different story from OCS applications.

 

[wontLETmeFLY]

Passed over in July. Try, try again...
Age: 32/M
OAR: 61
B.S. and M.S. Mathematics, Minor: Physics
GPA: 3.3
The rest is pretty vanilla. I figure I'm moderately competitive. Working on improving packet for the next board. Hopefully it isn't necessary. Good luck everyone.

 

[SirDataDetective]

Were you looking at DCO threads? DCO is a completely different story from OCS applications.

Nope, was looking at the March IWC thread where the importance of appraisals was discussed at length. One applicant had said that his OR shared that almost all of those accepted had an appraisal of some sort. Clearly, that doesn't seem to be the case.


My waiver was approved, but since it's now a week past the submission deadline, I still won't be able to apply to this Board. Silly rule.

 

[GlassBanger]

My waiver was approved, but since it's now a week past the submission deadline, I still won't be able to apply to this Board. Silly rule.

As disorganized and insane as the process is now, can you imagine if they actually allowed late applications? My recruiter submitted mine 1 week before the deadline and people on here were skeptical it would make it to board, as was he. It has multiple steps to go through after the deadline, prior to board. Pretty much numerous people making sure all t's are crossed and all i's are dotted. That system failed me twice when I applied for SWO twice in a row... with a waiver that disqualifies me for the designator entirely lol

 

[SirDataDetective]

As disorganized and insane as the process is now, can you imagine if they actually allowed late applications? My recruiter submitted mine 1 week before the deadline and people on here were skeptical it would make it to board, as was he. It has multiple steps to go through after the deadline, prior to board. Pretty much numerous people making sure all t's are crossed and all i's are dotted. That system failed me twice when I applied for SWO twice in a row... with a waiver that disqualifies me for the designator entirely lol

Yeah, it would probably create a lot of false hope for those applicants applying late.

My frustration was in my packet being held up for 2 months because of a waiver request that was lost by MEPS. You make a good point though, a late packet is a late packet and it will still struggle to be fully processed in time, regardless of the reason for it being late.

This process certainly isn't for those with only a small, passing, "Apply with your Indeed profile"-like interest in the Navy.

 

[AULANI]

Passed over in July. Try, try again...
Age: 32/M
OAR: 61
B.S. and M.S. Mathematics, Minor: Physics
GPA: 3.3
The rest is pretty vanilla. I figure I'm moderately competitive. Working on improving packet for the next board. Hopefully it isn't necessary. Good luck everyone.

Nice job on the OAR. Good luck!